1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a robot controller and a robot system wherein, in the case where a workpiece is configured of a plurality of work elements and a job pattern is determined for each work element, the workpiece is processed by a combination of job patterns for the work elements.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional method is known in which, in the case where a workpiece is configured of a plurality of elements and the job pattern for each element is determined, a job program for the workpiece is prepared by combining the programs of the job patterns for the work elements. In a robot for conducting a deburring job to deburr a product, for example, a teaching program for the deburring job is prepared for each part making up the product to be deburred, and the deburring job is conducted by calling the teaching program for each of parts making up the particular product from a main program.
In this known method, the main program forms a job program, which determines whether or not every one of the workpieces corresponds to one of the products already registered and, in the case where it is determined that the workpiece is one of the products already registered, sequentially calls a particular teaching program for each particular part (element) of the product required to carry out the job on the product, to thereby carry out the job on the product as a whole.
Note that no reference related to an invention wherein a job program on a product is prepared directly and automatically from teaching programs for elements of a workpiece, as the present invention described below, could be discovered.
In the conventional method wherein each teaching program for each of a plurality of elements making up a workpiece are combined to form a job program for the workpiece, preparation of a job program for a new workpiece (product) requires the operator to prepare and register a new teaching program necessary for the job or, alternatively, add a determination process for recognizing the new workpiece to the main program for forming a job program for a plurality of workpieces already registered and add an instruction to call the teaching program for each element required for the job to the branched portion of the main program. As a result, an error such as a command error of the branch instruction or a calling error of the teaching program to be called can occur. Further, the robot operation is required to be suspended during the adding process.